WHILE the £9million keeper says he's not hanging his boots up just yet, he has been focusing his attentions on coaching at Dumbarton.

SCOTLAND star Craig Gordon has admitted his playing days may be behind him.

The £9million keeper has been hampered by a career-threatening knee problem.

And while he’s not saying he is hanging up his boots just yet, Gordon admits he is now setting his sights on management.

The 30-year-old has been helping out on the coaching staff at Dumbarton.

Former Hearts and Sunderland hero Gordon said: “Ian Murray called me to ask if I wanted to help and to get some experience. I was delighted to take him up on his offer.

“I would prefer to aim for management but you need the experience of coaching and going through the ranks.

“I’m not ruling out playing again but as it goes on, increasingly it gets harder.

“I’ve had a couple of surgeries on it, but it’s definitely not back to 100 per cent yet.

“Hopefully I can get back to playing with a bit of pain. It’s about getting to a stage where I can get what I need to out of the knee.

“I definitely won’t be playing again this season.

“That’s part of the reason I wanted into coaching, you don’t know when the end might come for playing.

“I’m certainly not ready to throw in the towel just yet but it’s been a long time and I don’t know where I’ll be going in the future.”

The 30-year-old goalie – who was released by Sunderland last year – watched a five-goal thriller at the weekend as Dumbarton clinched a 3-2 victory over Livingston at Almondvale. And he stunned fans when he appeared at the match to put Sons’ goalie Jamie Ewings through his paces before kick-off.

Gordon, who won 40 caps for Scotland, said he enjoyed the pre-match preparations and sitting in the dugout.

He added: “I’ve enjoyed being part of the coaching team. As a player you focus on your own game at warm-ups and in the dressing room.

“It’s been very interesting to take a step back and see what’s involved behind the scenes.

“I spoke to Ian a few weeks ago on Sportscene about the possibility of coming in and helping out and he called me on Thursday and asked if I was available.

“I’m available to give a hand whenever he thinks necessary. It may become regular, it may not.”

When Gordon moved south from Hearts to Sunderland in 2007, his £9m fee was the biggest paid for a keeper in Britain at that time.